Contents

The 2nd Earl of Essex, Robert Devereux (1566-1601) was the main leader of Essex's Rebellion in 1601. The main tensions that led to the rebellion began in 1599, when Devereux was given the position of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.[3] He was sent to Ireland with the mission of subduing the revolts led by the Earl of Tyrone, leading one of the largest expeditionary forces ever sent to Ireland. It was expected that he would crush the rebellion immediately, however instead Devereux fought a series of inconclusive battles, squandered his funds, and was unable to face the rebels in any sort of engagement.[4] In this dilemma, Devereux eventually made a truce with the rebels. This truce was seen as a disgrace to England and a detriment to the authority of those in power. He proceeded to leave Ireland and returned to England. His time spent as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland proved disastrous to him; his return was in express defiance of the orders of the Queen. She spoke out on his behavior, calling it “Perilous and contemptable”.[5] Devereux was deprived of his offices in June of 1600 and promptly placed under house arrest. In disgrace as well as in political and financial ruin, Devereux wrote several letters of submission to the Queen, and by August of 1600 he was able to move freely except to return to court. He spent further time sending letters in an attempt to gain permission to do so. In November of 1600, Queen Elizabeth refused to renew his monopoly on sweet wine, an action that placed Devereux in even deeper financial ruin. He began to create plans to seize the court by force.[6]

The Earl's London residence, Essex House, became a focal point for people who were upset with Elizabeth’s government. On Tuesday, February 3, 1601, five of the conspiracy leaders met at Drury House, the lodging of the Earl of Southampton. Hoping to avoid suspicion, Devereux himself was not present. The group discussed Devereux’s proposals for seizing the court, the tower and the city. Their goal was to force the Queen to change the leaders in her government, particularly Robert Cecil, even if this attempt meant causing harm to the Queen’s people.[7]

Three days later, some of Devereux’s followers went to the Globe Theater to ask the Lord Chamberlain's Men to stage a special performance of Richard II with the deposition scene included. The company was hesitant to perform such a controversial play, but eventually agreed once they were promised a payment of 40 shillings. On February 7, the council summoned Devereux to appear before them, but he refused. He had lost his chance to take the court by surprise, so he fell back on his scheme to rouse the city of London in his favour with the claim that Elizabeth’s government had planned to murder him and had sold out England to Spain.[8]

Essex and his followers hastily planned the rising. At about 10am the next morning (February 8) Lord KeeperThomas Egerton and three others came to Essex in the name of the Queen. Devereux captured the four messengers and kept them hostage while he and his followers (about 200 people) made their way to the city. Meanwhile, Robert Cecil sent a warning to the mayor and the heralds denouncing Devereux as a traitor. Once the word traitor was used, many of Devereux's followers disappeared, and none of the citizens joined him as he had expected. Devereux's position was desperate, and he decided to return to Essex House. When he got there, he found the hostages gone. The Queen’s men, under Lord High Admiral The Earl of Nottingham, besieged the house. By that evening, after burning incriminating evidence, Devereux surrendered. Devereux, the Earl of Southampton and the other remaining followers were placed under arrest.[9]

Less than two weeks after the aborted rebellion, Essex and Southampton were tried for treason. The trial lasted only a day, and the guilty verdict was a foregone conclusion. Though Devereux had burnt incriminating evidence to save his followers prior to his arrest, he was convinced by Reverend Abdy Ashton to purge his soul of guilt: in turn Devereux confessed everyone who was involved including his sister Penelope on whom he put a great deal of the blame.[10]

On February 25, 1601, Devereux was beheaded in the confines of the Tower.[11] Southampton, however, survived the Tower, to be freed upon the accession of James VI of Scotland as James I of England. Sir Christopher Blount, Sir Gelli Meyrick, Sir Henry Cuffe, Sir John Davis, and Sir Charles Danvers all stood trial for high treason on 5 March 1601 and were all found guilty. Davies was allowed to leave, but the other four were executed. There were no large-scale executions, however; the other members of the conspiracy were fined.[12]